Precisely calibrated pressure reducing and gas-metering devices (regulators) are commonly used in the medical, emergency and home health care industries for delivering oxygen to patients in need thereof Most regulators are attached to a high pressure oxygen tank via standardized mechanical connections as set forth in the Compressed Gas Associations standards.
In the prior art, see FIG. 1, a "t-handle" is typically the mechanical fastener or attachment device of choice for securing the regulator to a "post valve". The post valve is attached to a high pressure gas tank. The post valve provides a convenient and reliable mechanical attachment mechanism for securing a regulator to a gas tank. Metered gas flow is usually delivered to the patient via a resilient flexible hollow tubing or hose. The tubing is attached to the regulator by forcing the tubing onto a tapered fitting having ridges thereon that aid in retaining the hose on the fitting.
It is not uncommon for the resilient tubing to become wrapped around or tangled on the t-handle of the regulator. Such tangling of the hose is very inconvenient to users of such devices. In an emergency scenario, precious time may be lost in providing gas to a patient as a medical assistant attempts to disentangle the tubing from the t-handle.
Further, service failures of regulators are, at times, attributable to over-tightening of the t-handle by the user. Such a failure requires return of the regulator to the manufacturer for repair.
What is needed is an attachment mechanism or fastener for securing a regulator to a high pressure gas tank that minimizes the likelihood of ensnaring resilient hoses or tubing typically used in the medical and home health care industry to deliver oxygen to a patient. Further, the fastener should limit the torque that a user may impart to the threaded rod or shaft of the fastener to prevent inadvertent damage to the regulator when attaching the regulator to a source of high pressure gas, be the source of high pressure gas a high pressure gas tank or a distributed high pressure gas system in a hospital.